LOCAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE EDITION DECEMBER 2013 Cultural Holidays Great Debaters Steam Train

TASTYTASTY TIDINGSTIDINGS Pecan-studded shrimp floating on sea of greens gets grand prize

PagePage 3434 BestBest AppetizerMainAppetizerMain Dish,Dish, and and SideSide DessertDessert Dish,Dish, $5,000SPONSOREDSPONSORED HOLIDAY BYBY TEXAS TEXASRECIPE PECANPECAN CONTEST BOARDBOARD Introducing Kubota’s RTV X Series – the next generation of North America’s top-selling diesel utility vehicle for 10 years running. Rugged, truck-inspired styling. Powerful Kubota diesel engines. New best-in-class “extra duty” independent rear suspension. Plus more hardworking options and attachments than ever before. See your authorized Kubota dealer to learn more.

©Kubota Tractor Corporation, 2013 December Since 1944 2013

FAVORITES

33 Texas History Jane Long’s Christmas By Martha Deeringer

34 Recipes Holiday Recipe Contest

39 Focus on Texas Homemade

40 Around Texas List of Local Events

42 Hit the Road Steam Train By Kevin Hargis

ONLINE TexasCoopPower.com Texas USA Governor’s Mansion Restored FEATURES By Jeff Joiner

Observations How We Make Our Spirits Bright Around the state, The Book of Books Texans cling to rooted traditions, sacred and secular, to By Suzanne Haberman celebrate the holidays By Camille Wheeler 8

Wiley’s Sages Debate team from historically black college challenged segregated America By E.R. Bills 16

Around Texas: Check out the many holiday happenings decking towns all around the state. 40 42

16 34 39

COVER PHOTO Peggy Dickerson’s fabulous shrimp dish is the grand prizewinner in the 2013 Holiday Recipe Contest. By Rick Patrick

TEXAS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Darryl Schriver, Chair, Merkel; Jerry B. Boze, Vice Chair, Kaufman; David Marricle, Secretary-Treasurer, Muleshoe; Debra A. Cole, Itasca; Kyle J. Kuntz, Livingston; Robert A. Loth III, Fredericksburg; Mark Rollans, Hondo PRESIDENT/CEO: Mike Williams, Austin COMMUNICATIONS & MEMBER SERVICES COMMITTEE: Kelly Lankford, San Angelo; Bryan Lightfoot, Bartlett; Billy Marricle, Bellville; Stan McClendon, Wellington; Blaine Warzecha, Victoria; Jerry Williams, Paris; Kathy Wood, Marshall COMMUNICATIONS STAFF: Martin Bevins, Vice President, Communications & Member Services; Jeff Joiner, Editor; Tom Widlowski, Associate Editor; Suzi Sands, Art Director; Karen Nejtek, Production Manager; Grace Arsiaga, Print Production Specialist; Ashley Clary-Carpenter, Field Editor; Andy Doughty, Production Designer/Web Content Manager; Sandra Forston, Communications Assistant; Suzanne Haberman, Staff Writer; Kevin Hargis, Copy Editor; Ellen Stader, Proofreader ORNAMENTS: KLIKK | BIGSTOCK.COM

TexasCoopPower.com December 2013 Texas Co-op Power 3 Land Clearing Attachments Special Tree & Brush Cutting Attachments Dougherty Forestry Manufacturing

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Dougherty Forestry Mfg. Hinton, OK. Toll Free: 1.888.530.8967, www.turbosaw.com

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4 Texas Co-op Power December 2013 TexasCoopPower.com LOCAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE EDITION OCTOBER 2013 CURRENTS Letters, emails and posts from our readers High Plains Cotton Chili William Travis’ Ring

Web Extras Ghost Towns Just finished reading the October Thank you for Suzanne Haberman’s story “Old Haunts” Rust in issue and want to tell you how [October 2013]. Best writing I have ever enjoyed in much I enjoy each issue. PEACE your publication. And I have appreciated your (feels Ghost town relics hint of times teeming with life The “Rust in Peace” article like) free magazine very much for well over a decade. [October 2013] is super. I followed Also delighted y’all featured the Madisonville up on the “additional info” leads at ’shroom festival. Hope it inspires new foragers to go to the end of each article. Wow! The slideshows are great additional the [Big] Thicket for so much more than fungi. information. TINA STRONG | PEDERNALES EC Needless to say, I have regis- tered for the E-Newsletter and am eagerly waiting for the next issue. He went into Mason and sent a fracking a lot, but is not the father Mineral Wells Memories The articles are also good leads for man to our rescue. An employee of of the process. I was raised in Mineral Wells [Hit new places to visit. Dipstick’s Tire & Lube brought a JIM WAGGONER | TRINITY VALLEY EC the Road, October 2013]. My dad DAVID THEIS | PEDERNALES EC new tire and repaired the situation was stationed at Camp Wolters. My for us. honey and I went to grade school We are most thankful to Bo Travis’ Ring and high school there. We married Brown for his help. [Randall “Bo” Rebecca Cumings [“William Travis’ and had two sons there. We moved Randall ‘Bo’ Brown Brown, a first-class lineman, has Ring,” October 2013] is my relative. to East Texas in 1954. been with CTEC for 28 years.] I am very curious how Martha That cold crystal water was so BILLIE AND CHARLES FUCHS | BARTLETT EC Deeringer learned of the informa- good when we walked home from tion for her article. school and we would stop and get a The article mentioned a brooch glass of it. Internet Access that Travis gave to her. I hadn’t It’s good to go back. I agree with the reader’s comment heard that before. I have been MARGARET KING | WOOD COUNTY EC about the lack of reliable, afford- searching and searching for a photo able Internet access to rural citizens of Rebecca. [“Empowering Members,” October I enjoyed your article, and it is GET MORE TCP AT 2013 Letters]. exactly the story that I also know, TexasCoopPower.com At least here in Comanche which was told to me by my father, County, we’re still in the stone ages. Kenneth Cumings. Find more letters online in the Table of The only Internet access available in LYDIA CUMINGS | COLLEGE STATION Contents. Sign up for our rural areas is either with the phone E-Newsletter for Hero from Central Texas EC company, which requires a landline monthly updates, On September 23, my husband and and all the assorted monthly Editor’s note: We spelled Rebecca prize drawings I were en route to Seminole Canyon charges associated with it, or the Cummings’ name with two m’s, as and more! State Park when we had a blowout very unreliable satellite access. is found in numerous historical on a tire on our travel trailer. We BARBARA MILLER | VIA FACEBOOK documents. Lydia Cumings WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! were stranded between Llano and explains the way she spells her ONLINE: Mason, a short way from Art. name: “The spelling of Cumings is TexasCoopPower.com/share EMAIL: [email protected] My husband is 78 and I am 77, Fracking Facts correct with one m. In the book MAIL: Editor, Texas Co-op Power, and there was no way either of us You had an item that said George ‘William Barret Travis: His Sword 1122 Colorado St., 24th Floor, could change a tire. An employee of Mitchell “developed hydraulic frac- and His Pen’ written by Martha Austin, TX 78701 Central Texas Electric Co-op turing” [“ ‘Father of Fracking’ Anne Turner, on Page 141 is a pic- Please include your town and electric co-op. stopped to help us. Bo Brown Changed World’s Energy Balance,” ture of a document that Rebecca Letters may be edited for clarity and length. removed some damaged metal October 2013]. This is incorrect. signed using just the one m in from the underside of the trailer The Stanolind Oil and Gas Corp. Cumings. We think that the and made note of the size tire (now BP) held the patent on frack- spelling has just become confused needed. ing in the early 1950s. Mitchell used over the years.” @TexasCoopPower

TEXAS CO-OP POWER VOLUME 70, NUMBER 6 (USPS 540-560). Texas Co-op Power is published monthly by Texas Electric Cooperatives (TEC). Periodical Postage Paid at Austin, TX and at additional offices. TEC is the statewide association representing 76 electric cooperatives. Texas Co-op Power’s website is TexasCoopPower.com. Call (512) 454-0311 or email [email protected]. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE is $4.08 per year for individual members of subscribing cooperatives. If you are not a member of a subscribing cooperative, you can purchase an annual subscription at the nonmember rate of $7.50. Individual copies and back issues are available for $3 each. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Texas Co-op Power (USPS 540-560), 1122 Colorado St., 24th Floor, Austin, TX 78701. Please enclose label from this copy of Texas Co-op Power showing old address and key numbers. ADVERTISING: Advertisers interested in buying display ad space in Texas Co-op Power and/or in our 30 sister publications in other states, contact Martin Bevins at (512) 486-6249. Advertisements in Texas Co-op Power are paid solicitations. The publisher neither endorses nor guarantees in any manner any product or company included in this publication. Product satisfaction and delivery responsibility lie solely with the advertiser. © Copyright 2013 Texas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. Reproduction of this issue or any portion of it is expressly prohibited without written permission. Willie Wiredhand © Copyright 2013 National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

TexasCoopPower.com December 2013 Texas Co-op Power 5 CURRENTS Energy, innovation, people, places and events in Texas

HAPPENINGS A Night in Bethlehem Every year for more than a decade, the First Baptist Church of Find more happenings all Livingston has transformed Pedigo Park into a re-creation of across the state at the village of Bethlehem, including the Nativity scene. The TexasCoopPower event, A Night in Bethlehem, is scheduled for December 7-9 .com this year. The church’s congregation, many of whom are members of Sam Houston EC, works more than 1,500 hours to complete the transformation, which includes two large pavilions and one tent with shops, animals, live music and more than 100 actors in period costume. The FBC’s Worship Choir, which comprises 100 singers and entertains several hours each day, began preparations in August. More than 3,500 visitors are expected this year.

INFO: (936) 327-4417, fbclivingston.org Waxahachie Washout When two scientists won the Nobel Prize in physics on October 8 for research conducted in Switzer- land that proved the existence of a subatomic particle believed to give mass to all other matter, the newsroom at the Waxahachie Daily Light was nailing down coverage of the police chief’s contract and an upcoming ghost walk downtown. The real ghost walk occurred 20 years earlier when Congress yanked funding to finish construct- ing the Superconducting Super Collider, a 54-mile circular laboratory being built under Waxahachie. The SSC would have given researchers the ability to smash subatomic particles into each other at nearly the speed of light as they searched for the existence of the Higgs boson, also called the “God particle.” A Really Old Testament Construction on the SSC began in 1991, and 15 miles of tunnel were dug. But in 1993, after $2 bil- lion had been spent on the Waxahachie project, Congress canceled it. That opened the door for the Hey, Texas, your incunabulum LAMY discovery, described by The Wall Street Journal as “one of the seminal moments of modern science,” (in-kyə-ˈna-byə-ləm) is showing. to be made at Switzerland’s massive particle accelerator, known as CERN, in 2012. Actually, it’s been on display for That also left one scientist lamenting what might have been in Texas. more than 35 years and has been “We would have all this settled long ago if Congress had not foolishly canceled a great scientific around for centuries. project that was going to be built here in Texas,” University of Texas theoretical physicist Steven Incunabula (from the Latin word Weinberg told KUT News in July 2012. for bands holding the baby in a cra- Today, the SSC site is home to the chemical manufacturing company Magnablend. dle) are books printed during the ear- liest period of printing, before 1501. Texas has a copy of one of the world’s most famous incunabulum— the Gutenberg Bible—printed about 1455 in Germany by Johann Guten- berg. The University of Texas shows the incunabulum at the Harry Ran- som Center in Austin. The display has been in place since the university purchased the Bible in 1978. Read more about the Gutenberg Bible—including the history of the printing press and UT’s acquisition and handling of the book—in this

month’s Observations. A GUTENBERG BIBLE: EVERETT COLLECTION: EDD PATTON. WAXAHACHIE: CHURCH OF LIVINGSTON. BAPTIST MEMBERS FIRST HAPPENINGS: COURTESY

6 Texas Co-op Power December 2013 TexasCoopPower.com CO-OP PEOPLE Take a Book, Leave a Book

A Little Free Library is an outdoor cabinet that houses books to take or leave—for free. They have been sprouting up in neighborhoods across the planet. And now you can find one in Frisco. The Ladybug Little Free Library in the Panther Creek neighborhood is part of a grassroots literacy movement started three years ago in Wiscon- sin. Now there are about 6,000 such libraries in 36 countries. CoServ Electric members Marie and Gregory Buggs thought it was a perfect idea for their neighborhood. “We were looking for a community project to work on with our granddaughter,” Marie said. Gregory built the cabinet, and granddaughter Alexandria Gann, 10, whose nickname is Ladybug, helped pick out its decorations. “It gets the kids involved. They don’t have to worry about keeping a book so long as they leave one to share,” Marie said.

LEARN MORE about Little Free Libraries at littlefreelibrary.org.

WHO KNEW? The Recipes Don’t Lie

Lutefisk is a traditional holiday fish dish eaten by people of Nordic backgrounds (see “How We Make Our Spirits Bright,” Page 8). The recipe calls for dried codfish, reconstituted using lye, commonly known as a caustic chemical used to make soaps and drain cleaners. The toxic nature of lye led the state of Wisconsin, which has a large Scandinavian popu- lation, to pass a workplace safety law that exempts lutefisk from being classified as a toxic substance, according to smithsonianmag.com. But lye is used in preparing foods other than lutefisk. A bath in water and lye right before bak- ing is what gives pretzels “their terrific color, tex- ture and flavor,” the Los Angeles Times reported. And lye, the Times continued, is used in making hominy, the curing of olives and the canning of mandarin oranges. Gregory Buggs and granddaughter Alexandria Gann

Palestine is 4,018 miles from the North Pole. Our Hit the Road this month, “Steam Train” on Page 42, describes the popular Polar Express Train Ride conducted in November and December. That jaunt starts from the depot in Palestine and goes about 16 miles round-trip. It’s a re-creation of the fantastic train journey children make to the North Pole on Christmas Eve in the Chris Van Allsburg book “The Polar Express” (Houghton Mifflin, 1985) and the 2004 film featuring the voice of

LYE AND NUMBER: EDD PATTON. LITTLE FREE LIBRARY: MARIE BUGGS LITTLE FREE LIBRARY: AND NUMBER: EDD PATTON. LYE Tom Hanks.

TexasCoopPower.com December 2013 Texas Co-op Power 7 BY CAMILLE WHEELER

Around the state, Texans cling to various traditions, sacred and secular, to celebrate the holidays HowHow WeWe MakeMake OurOur SpiritsSpirits BrightBright

Cowboy Santa John Com- pere of Baird and 4-year- old Lilah Love Davis of Hawley are dressed up and ready for the 79th annual Texas Cowboys’ Christmas Ball at Pioneer Hall in Anson. There is no short- age of ways to celebrate the holidays in Texas, no matter your faith or cultural background. JENNIFER NICHOLS

8 Texas Co-op Power December 2013 TexasCoopPower.com ear the tip-top of Texas, where swirling snow- NstormsN conjure up visions of the North Pole, Santa rides shotgun in a pickup pulling a flatbed trailer. Each December, a few days before Christmas, Texline Mayor Jim Smith dons a red Santa Claus suit complete with East Ger- man guard boots ordered from an army surplus store and a leather belt sporting a saddle-cinch buckle. As Santa for Texline’s Angel Tree program, Smith delivers presents to children in need in this small town served by Rita Blanca Electric Cooperative. His wig and fake beard cover much of his face, making it hard for him to see, so Smith enlists a driver for a magical night’s work on the Texas-New Mexico border 7 miles from Oklahoma. At home after home, Smith grabs wrapped presents off the trailer, knocks on front doors and greets wide-eyed youngsters with a booming “Merrrry Christmas!” From his red Santa hat down to the faux white fur lining his boot tops, Smith looks like the real thing. And with the suit’s belly pad bulking up his 6-foot-2-inch, 245-pound frame, “I’m plenty fat,” Smith says. One year, a boy wasn’t home when Smith came calling. Later that night, after his Santa rounds were completed, Smith and his wife, Pamela, saw the boy at a restaurant. When Pamela told the lad that Santa had dropped his gifts off at their house for safe- keeping, he incredulously sputtered that he had just seen Santa at school the day before. Why hadn’t Santa handed over the goods then? Texline’s youngsters see Smith year-round, but most of them never seem to recognize him as Santa. Wonderful, says the 66- year-old Smith: “I want ’em to believe.” And from the Panhandle to the South Texas border, we do. Granted, as Texans representing many different cultures, we might not all believe the same thing. But during this special time TOP: The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights, features the light- of year when myriad faiths, ethnicities and community events ing of candles on a menorah, one each night for the eight-day celebration. A ninth share space on jam-packed calendars, we can honor the heritages candle is called a shamash or helper. BOTTOM: Many African-American Texans cele- brate Kwanzaa, the nonreligious holiday celebrating family and community. Events from whence we came: African. Asian. Czech. Danish. German. often feature African dance, music and richly colored traditional clothing. Irish. Lebanese. Mexican. Norwegian. Polish. Spanish. Wendish. During this Christmas season, which much of the state cele- brates, we can embrace diversity. Those of Judaic faith, for language. Kwanzaa, which represents all of Africa as a Pan- example, ask us to understand that Hanukkah, an eight-day hol- African holiday, celebrates family and community. Kwanzaa’s iday that ends December 5 this year, is not the Jewish Christ- seven principles of unity, self-determination, collective work mas. The holiday begins on the 25th day of Kislev on the Hebrew and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, calendar, which can fall at any time from late November through and faith sound a lot like those by which electric cooperatives late December. Hanukkah, which means “dedication” in abide. Hebrew, commemorates the rededication of the Temple of Even if we’re too old to believe in Santa, we can celebrate his Jerusalem in 165 BC after it was defiled. The rededication giving spirit. Sure, it gets a little weird when inflatable elves and required that the menorah, or candelabra, be lit. There was only reindeer share front yards with Nativity scenes. But before we enough oil to burn for one day, but miraculously, the oil lasted charge anyone with sacrilege, consider that the modern-day eight days. As part of traditional Hanukkah celebrations, Jewish Santa’s roots date back to St. Nicholas, a fourth-century bishop families light candles in a menorah: One of eight candles is lit in a region that’s now part of Turkey who dedicated his life to each night with a ninth candle called a shamash, or helper. serving God, protecting children and helping the sick and poor. And the members of the African-American community stag- As bighearted Texans, we can follow suit. We can give of our ing big events in Dallas and Houston invite fellow Texans to time, our money and our love. And as adventurous Texans, we experience a nonreligious, cultural holiday called Kwanzaa. Its could sample something new this Christmas and holiday season, name is derived from the phrase matunda ya kwanza, which such as a Spanish-origin folk drama. Or we could be really daring means “first fruits” in Swahili, the most widely spoken African and try a Norwegian delicacy called lutefisk: lye-soaked codfish. HANUKKAH: SUPERSTOCK | CORBIS. KWANZAA: JAMES LEYNSE | CORBIS JAMES KWANZAA: | CORBIS. SUPERSTOCK HANUKKAH:

TexasCoopPower.com December 2013 Texas Co-op Power 9 Shepherds of History Stuffed to the Gills

n missions, churches, neighborhoods and back- very October, Cranfills Gap native Ruth Taylor Iyards across Texas, Mexican-Americans re-enact two Christmas Eorders 75 to 100 pounds of codfish from Olsen Fish Company of folk plays that Spanish missionaries brought to the New World: Minneapolis. The dried fish, which doesn’t require ice for Las Posadas, a processional drama that re-enacts Mary and travel—but does carry a distinct odor—arrives around Hal- Joseph’s search for a posada, or inn, on the eve of Jesus’ birth; loween in cardboard boxes at the Cranfills Gap school. “The UPS and Los Pastores, an elaborate Nativity drama performed in man is always glad to get that off the truck,” Taylor says. Spanish starring the pastores, or shepherds, alongside masked From that point on, it’s all hands on deck in preparation for and costumed angels and devils. the Cranfills Gap Lutefisk Dinner, a December fundraiser for There’s no more appropriate setting than San Antonio, which the school district and a feast that celebrates the Norwegian her- arose from the establishment of Spanish missions almost 300 itage of this Central Texas town northwest of Waco served by years ago, to watch both annual performances. La Gran Posada, United Cooperative Services. considered Texas’ oldest version of this drama, winds its way The codfish arrives almost as hard as a rock—like jerky, Taylor through downtown San Antonio to historic San Fernando says—and in long fish sticks, which the high school agriculture Cathedral. Participants and tourists who join the procession fol- teacher cuts into 3-inch pieces with an electric band saw. After ag low costumed actors to the church, where festivities include a students pull the skin off with pliers, the fish goes into a 30-gallon mariachi band and choir performance. San Fernando Cathedral water trough for three weeks of soaking and rinsing in cold-water first staged the play in 1731, when the church was founded. mixtures of lye, lime and then a long bath of cold, fresh water About 5 miles south, Los Pastores performances are held under the twice-daily supervision of a fish master. The final step yearly at Mission San José at San Antonio Missions National of boiling the fish in salted water completes its transformation to Historical Park. Performed outdoors by members of Our Lady of opaque lutefisk: codfish (fisk) preserved in lye (lut). Guadalupe Catholic Church, Los Pastores is more than a play: Overcooked lutefisk turns gelatinous, says the 55-year-old It’s a ministry of telling the story of Christ’s birth via a rich, Taylor, who helps organize the annual event. But just like the ancient tradition, says 42-year-old Deborah Covarrubia- lutefisk she grew up eating in her grandparents’ kitchens, the Barcenez, a cast member since the age of 6. She portrays Tebano, firm and flaky lutefisk produced by Cranfills Gap’s experienced a lead shepherd role she inherited from her grandfather, who cooks is quite good, Taylor says. What does it taste like? She now plays the hermit. thinks for a few seconds, then laughs: “It tastes like lutefisk.”

Hispanic folk dramas take center stage during the Christmas season through- out the missions and churches of San Antonio. ABOVE: Celebrating the birth of Christ, Las Posadas re-enacts the journey of Mary and Joseph in search for a posada, or inn, on Christmas Eve. RIGHT: The event features elaborately cos- tumed actors dressed as the story’s main characters, including the wise men searching for baby Jesus. POSADA: MARTHA CERNA | KENS-TV CERNA | KENS-TV MARTHA POSADA:

10 Texas Co-op Power December 2013 TexasCoopPower.com Beyond the taste, Taylor says, what really matters is the tradi- tion of eating a fish so rich in history. Pre-Christmas lutefisk din- ners trace their roots to the centuries-old Norwegian practice of fasting during the Advent season, a time of preparation for cele- brating the birth of Christ. During the Catholic Middle Ages, from roughly 1000 through the early 1500s, codfish was dried outdoors on wooden racks, then soaked in lye, rinsed in fresh water, and boiled and served with butter as part of a fasting ritual. In modern times, lutefisk pairs nicely with the rest of the Cranfills Gap dinner’s menu: boiled potatoes, white sauce and melted butter, turkey and cornbread dressing, green beans, homemade bread, cranberry sauce and homemade pies. The dinner, which can feed 800 people, is a community affair. In roles that Taylor once filled, elementary-school students wearing traditional costumes perform Norwegian dances for people waiting to be seated in the high school gym. Older stu- dents serve the meal and handle a host of other details, from fill- ing breadbaskets to directing parking-lot traffic.

He Knows If You’ve Been Bad or Good … Cranfills Gap Middle School students raise money for their school each year by sell- ing tickets and serving a traditional Norwegian Christmas meal featuring lutefisk, or codfish. Students, from left, Kameron Wiese, Ty Green, Nicolas Moreno and Ricardo Brionez pull the skin off dried codfish that then must undergo three weeks of preparation before being cooked for the annual Cranfills Gap Lutefisk Dinner. ecades ago, Texas children raised in Czech homes Ddidn’tD look to the night sky for Santa’s sleigh. They knew that St. warned: The devil’s right here. He bravely responded in Czech, Nicholas was coming to the front door with the devil in tow. the only language he knew: Ano. Yes. They’d been well-behaved. Jerry Janecka, an 81-year-old docent at the Institute of Texan “I’ve never forgot it,” says Janecka, who later learned that an Cultures in San Antonio, recalls his earliest memory of St. uncle and two neighbors played the imposing trio. “It scared the Nicholas visiting his family’s Central Texas farm in Dubina, the living daylights out of us.” first Czech settlement in Texas. But Christmas, resplendent in its simplicities, was a joyful On December 5, the eve of St. Nicholas Day, the door swung time for the family. Apples, popcorn and lit candles decorated a open and there stood three figures: St. Nicholas, the devil and an cedar tree cut and hauled home on Christmas Eve. The family angel leading the devil by his rattling chains. St. Nicholas, speak- fasted before Christmas Eve midnight Mass and then came ing in Czech, asked Janecka, who was 5 or 6, and two younger home to desserts—kolache, molasses cookies, poppy-seed brothers if they’d been good that year. Don’t lie, St. Nicholas strudel—and presents. Christmas Day brought a feast of sausage,

A popular Christmas song talks about Santa coming to town, checking his list for naughty and nice children. Many Czech families recall the traditional story of St. Nicholas visiting children while accompanied by the devil. In the story, the devil is dragged in chains by an angel as St. Nicholas asks children if they have been good. Not wanting to be handed over to the guy with horns, the answer was usually ano, or ‘yes’ in Czech. LUTEFISK: JENNIFER NICHOLS. ST NICHOLAS WOODCUT: JOHN WILSON NICHOLAS WOODCUT: JENNIFER NICHOLS. ST LUTEFISK:

TexasCoopPower.com December 2013 Texas Co-op Power 11 duck or goose, and gravy and potatoes at Grandpa’s house, who It’s the Christmas and holiday season in Texas: a time to gave each of the grandkids a silver dollar. exchange, and appreciate, the cultural gifts that represent our diverse paths. It’s a time for faith, family, community, time- Dancin’ in Anson honored traditions, new experiences—lutefisk, anyone?—and, above all, love. Camille Wheeler is an Austin writer.

nside Anson’s Pioneer Hall, the rules are clear: Web Extras on TexasCoopPower.com INo drinking. No smoking. And no hats worn while dancing. • Read more: Years ago, children raised in German- and Polish-heritage Yes, dancing, that controversial, boot-scootin’ activity that homes knew the Christmas Eve rules: No one touched gifts under the tree from 1933 to 1987 was illegal by ordinance in Anson, near Abi- until the bell was rung and the parlor door was opened. lene. The historic Texas Cowboys’ Christmas Ball—first held in • Read about Marshall’s gift to the world. Almost 30 years after a winter 1885 and resurrected in 1934—became an annual event while of economic darkness, this East Texas festival continues to light the way. other dances were banned. Today, all public dances in Anson, the • Take in the tastes of the season with a recipe for Pimentos-N-Cheese ball at Pioneer Hall included, require a $25 dance permit. shared by the Texas Cowboys’ Christmas Ball and one for Molasses Cookies True to pioneer traditions, the Texas Cowboys’ Christmas handed down through generations in a Polish family. Ball keeps pertinent rules in play: Men must check their hats at the door, and women must wear a dress (organizers keep extra Marshall Lights skirts in the back room). “If you break those rules,” says Suanne Holtman, secretary and treasurer of the Texas Cowboys’ Christ- mas Ball Association, “it becomes just another dance.” That’s hard to imagine. This storied ball attracts out-of-state and international visitors and one very special guest: a Western Santa who slips in the front door on the final of three nights before the little ones fall asleep. Wearing a cowboy hat (he’s exempt from the rule), a red coat, Wranglers, chaps and spurs, and toting saddlebags filled with candy, Santa enters ringing bells and shouting out a hearty West Texas “Ho, ho, ho!”

Worth Seeing and Doing

A sampling of the religious, cultural and community-based offerings December 7–8, Dickens on the Strand—Victorian Christmas festi- around Texas this holiday season: val celebrates 40th anniversary, Galveston. galvestonhistory.org November 27–December 31, Wonderland of Lights Festi- December 14–15, KwanzaaFest—Celebrate African-American her- val—Granddaddy of Texas’ Christmas lighting festivals, Marshall. itage of family, community and culture, Fair Park, Dallas. visitmarshalltexas.org johnwileyprice.com/kwanzaa-main.html November 29–January 1, Texas Hill Country Regional Christ- December 15, La Gran Posada—Re-enactment of Mary and mas Lighting Trail—Bandera, Blanco, Boerne, Burnet, Dripping Springs, Joseph’s search for lodging on the eve of Jesus’ birth. Evening procession Fredericksburg, Johnson City, Kerrville, Marble Falls and Wimberley create through downtown San Antonio, ending at San Fernando Cathedral. a luminous trail. tex-fest.com sfcathedral.org, visitsanantonio.com December 4–22, Ford Holiday River Boat Caroling—Choral and December 19–21, The Texas Cowboys’ Christmas Ball—For the folk groups, bell choirs and Latino ensembles ring and sing on boats along 79th consecutive year, they’re dancin’ in Anson. ansoncowboyschristmas the San Antonio River Walk. visitsanantonio.com ball.com December 6–7, Native Arts and Crafts Fair—Handmade items December 21, 7 p.m., Los Pastores—Folk play depicts the shep- from members of the Alabama-Coushatta and other Native American herds’ journey to worship the Christ child and tribes, Livingston. alabama-coushatta.com the obstacles the devil puts before them. Mission December 6–8, Christmas at Old Fort Concho—Shopping, living San José, San Antonio Missions National Histori- history, children’s workshops and much more on historic fort grounds, San cal Park. nps.gov/saan/index.htm Angelo. fortconcho.com/christmas.htm December 26–January 1, December 6–8, 13–15, 20–22, Fiesta de las Luminarias— Celebrate Kwanzaa—Various venues, Houston. Centuries-old tradition lines San Antonio River Walk with thousands of shape.org/kwanzaa.asp luminarias to symbolically light the way for the holy family. German Christmas Pyramid—Carousel-like visitsanantonio.com wooden structure handcrafted in Germany will December 7, Cranfills Gap Lutefisk Dinner—All the Norwegian remain illuminated through the first week of lutefisk you can eat. Seating times at 4 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 6:15 January in Fredericksburg’s Marktplatz. German Christmas Pyramid p.m. (254) 597-2406 or (254) 597-2505 visitfredericksburgtx.com MARSHALL LIIGHTS: NANCY PASEL. FREDERICKSBURG PYRAMID: FREDERICKSBURG CONVENTION AND VISITOR BUREAU AND VISITOR CONVENTION FREDERICKSBURG PYRAMID: FREDERICKSBURG NANCY PASEL. MARSHALL LIIGHTS:

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TexasCoopPower.com December 2013 Texas Co-op Power 15 WILEY’S SAGES Debate team from historically black college challenged segregated America BY E.R. BILLS

n the first half of the 20th cen- national hero after defeating German students from Wiley College in Marshall tury, color barriers in America were fighter Max Schmeling in 1938. And were making similar, if not just as dra- Irepeatedly broken by black athletes. Jackie Robinson sent shockwaves matic, inroads—not in sports, but in the Jesse Owens was the star of the 1936 through baseball in 1947 when he broke arena of collegiate debate. Olympics in front of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi into the major leagues. “It’s amazing their story is so little- Berlin. The Brown Bomber, Joe Louis, Even before African-American ath- known,” says Lloyd Thompson, professor reigned as the world heavyweight boxing letes became household names by eclips- of social sciences and history at Wiley.

champion from 1937 to 1949 and was a ing racial milestones in sports, a group of “They were phenomenal.” WILEY COLLEGE COURTESY PHOTOS

16 Texas Co-op Power December 2013 TexasCoopPower.com In the fall of 1923, Melvin Beaunorus diamond, cinder track or boxing ring and more unifying than divisive. “When the Tolson took a teaching job at Wiley, a began pummeling their opponents. finest intellects of black youth and white small, all-black college where he wore In more than 100 debates from 1930 youth meet,” Tolson later wrote, “the many hats. Besides teaching English, he to 1940, they lost one competition. After thinking person gets the thrill of seeing wrote poetry, founded and directed a local they dominated all the historically black beyond the racial phenomena the iden- theater troupe and coached football. colleges, including Bishop, Fisk, Howard, tity of worthy qualities.” Then, on October 28, 1924, he founded Morehouse, Tuskegee, Virginia Union, Most of the Wiley Forensic Society’s the Forensic Society of Wiley College. Knoxville and Wilberforce, they sched- exploits failed to make local or state news- Wiley’s Forensic Society became Tol- uled debates with white colleges. papers because Wiley was an all-black son’s passion, and he taught aspirers to The national forensic organization institution. But with coverage or not, the debate squad that points of view con- that governed collegiate debate competi- under Tolson’s guidance the Wiley Foren- tained no intrinsic truth. Wiley debaters tion in America was called Pi Kappa sic Society became a polemics power- were not simply taught to defend their Delta, and it restricted participation in house, with each successive debate squad own individual, heartfelt opinions or events to white students. Tolson formed as formidable as the preceding, dominat- beliefs—anyone could do that. Wiley Alpha Phi Omega to serve historically ing teams from institutions three, four debaters were pushed outside their per- black colleges, and Wiley scheduled con- and five times their enrollment. They did sonal and philosophical comfort zones tests with white colleges as unofficial, this while traversing the Jim Crow South and forced to win arguments from both no-decision affairs. on shoestring budgets and circumnavigat- sides, lofty or low, seemingly correct or In early 1930, the Wiley forensic team ing “whites only” accommodations and incorrect. They analyzed the strengths matched intellects with law students from restaurants. By the mid-1930s, Wiley was and weaknesses of pro and con stances the University of Michigan, becoming one being called the “Harvard West of the Mis- on an issue and then explored ways to of the first teams from a black college to sissippi,” and it was then that the Great bolster, mitigate or refute the premises debate a white college team in America. Debaters made their mark. and conclusions of each side. The event was held at the African-Ameri- During the 1934-35 debate season, Tuesday and Thursday nights at the can-owned Seventh Street Theater in Wiley steamrolled their usual opponents Tolson house—where members of the Chicago because most white-owned ven- and then set out on what Tolson called debate team gathered to sharpen their ues prohibited racially mixed audiences. In the Interracial Goodwill Tour to debate a cognitive wares—were not for the faint of March 1930, Wiley became the first black number of colleges on their way to Cali- wit. The Tolson living room became a college to debate a white university in the fornia to challenge the reigning Pi Kappa philosophical shark tank where opinions South, contesting Oklahoma City Univer- Delta national champion, the University were solicited, offered, interjected, dis- sity at Avery Chapel in Oklahoma City. of Southern California. sected, rejected, resurrected, conflated, The interracial debates were contro- In the early spring of 1935, they were berated, restated and occasionally per- versial, but Tolson considered them well-received in Fort Worth when Texas fected. Tolson worked to refine his debater’s elocution and delivery. No superfluous gesture, distracting tic, stalling pause or monosyllabic “uhhh” or “well” was safe. Tolson pounced on them like a hawk, cutting them from each team member’s oratory. Surprisingly, some of the debate topics of the day easily could be substituted for the pressing issues of today. During the 1934-35 debate season, forensic contests were based on four questions: 1) Should the international shipment of arms and munitions be restricted? 2) Should the incomes of presidents of corporations be limited? 3) Should health care be avail- able to all at public expense? 4) Does social planning fall under the purview of the federal government? Tolson required every Wiley Forensic Society member to read hundreds of books, journal essays and magazine arti- cles on history, government, economics, literature and sociology. With their grow- OPPOSITE: The debate teams at Wiley College honed their skills under the relentless tutelage of English and ing awareness and polished dialectic speech instructor Melvin Beaunorus Tolson, middle. The 1935 team became known as the Great Debaters after becoming one of the first teams from a traditionally black college to challenge and defeat debate teams from skills, Tolson’s polemicists staked out white colleges, including the national champion, the University of Southern California. ABOVE: The 2013 team intercollegiate debate as their baseball became the first from a historically black college to officially claim a national forensics championship.

TexasCoopPower.com December 2013 Texas Co-op Power 17 Christian University made history by on interviews and reports of the event, In the 2013 debate season, the team becoming the first white college in the Jarrett and Heights impressed everyone made history again when it became the South to invite a black college team onto its with their erudition and wit and van- first historically black college to officially campus for a debate. Wiley debaters quished the nation’s pre-eminent white earn a national forensics championship. Hobart Jarrett and Cleveland Gay handily collegiate debate team. Wiley claimed an individual national title defeated the recently formed Forensic As the contest was a no-decision affair, at the National Christian College Foren- Frogs and, afterward, the crowd rushed the Wiley College was never proclaimed sics Association Tournament held in stage to shake their hands and congratulate national champion by Pi Kappa Delta, but Siloam Springs, Arkansas, this past March. them. Tolson later remarked that TCU they did earn the title of “The Great E.R. Bills is a writer from Aledo. “had a splendid team, and we were never Debaters,” and their ascent to the apex of received more agreeably anywhere.” collegiate intellectualism was no less On March 22, 1935, Jarrett and Gay amazing or inspiring than the accomplish- defeated Willis Jacobs and John ments of the era’s great black athletes. Kennedy from the University of New “Given the temper of the times in Mexico at Texas’ El Paso Negro High which they lived,” Thompson says, “their School. Next, the Wiley College debaters success is hardly believable. To hail from a faced a team from San Francisco State tiny black college in East Texas and reach Teachers College before heading to Los the pinnacle of intercollegiate debate—it Angeles to face USC. was just an incredible achievement.” USC put the Wiley team up in dorm In 2007, “The Great Debaters”—a rooms, and Tolson subsequently con- movie directed by and starring Denzel fined them there. USC’s speech depart- Washington and produced by Oprah Win- ment was larger than Wiley College’s frey—hit theaters and introduced the entire campus, and Tolson reportedly story of the legendary Wiley forensics didn’t want his team intimidated. program to the American public. Wash- On April 2, 1935, Wiley debaters Jar- ington subsequently donated $1 million Web Extra on TexasCoopPower.com rett and Henry Heights locked minds to Wiley College to re-establish its foren- Watch the trailer for ‘The Great Debaters,’ with the Southern Cal debaters in front sics program, and today it’s back to its the 2007 film starring Denzel Washington. of a crowd of 2,200 at Bovard Hall. Based winning ways.

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CONSERVATION AND SAFETY INFORMATION MOODBOARD | THINKSTOCK MOODBOARD If traveling is part of your holiday plans, taking some simple steps at home before you head out can help cut energy costs and increase safety. Prepare Your Home for a Holiday Trip

So you’re not going to be home for the holidays? Make belongings are safe, too. Here are some steps to help you avoid sure that high winter electricity bills take a hike, too. putting out the welcome mat for would-be burglars: Here are some recommendations to save energy and keep DON’T ANNOUNCE YOUR TRAVEL PLANS ON SOCIAL MEDIA. your home safe if you go away for more than a few days: There’s no need to let all of the Internet know that you are HEATING/COOLING: Set your thermostat to 50 degrees. Your three states away and your home is deserted. Instead, share home may be chilly when you return, but not cold enough to your vacation details and photos when you return home. freeze pipes or damage plants. As a precaution, turn off water SKIP LEAVING (PREDICTABLE) TIMERS ON FOR APPLIANCES. at the meter and drip your faucets in case of a cold snap. Setting a timer for your lights and sprinklers is a great idea— NEVER leave portable heaters plugged in. just make sure that it’s not obvious. If the lights go on at 6:30 WATER HEATING: There’s no need to heat water if no one is a.m. and off at 10 p.m., like clockwork, and sprinklers turn on home. Turn off your water heater at the breaker, or set it on and off even if it’s raining, anyone closely watching your home the lowest temperature setting possible. will know you’re gone. Instead, try using several timers with WASHER AND DRYER: Unplug these when you leave. They multiple time zones, which can create the effect that someone have been known to short out and cause fires when, because of is moving through the house. a storm or accident, they become surrounded by water. Also, CLOSE BLINDS AND CURTAINS. Don’t let burglars do a little disconnect the hoses leading to the automatic washer to avoid window shopping with your belongings. If they see something freezing. they like, they might come back while you’re away. OTHER APPLIANCES/ELECTRONICS: Unplug them all! Many DON’T PREMATURELY PUT OUT TRASH. This is especially true still draw power while plugged in, even if turned off. Besides, if your recycling includes boxes for all those new gadgets you an appliance that’s left connected can be a fire hazard. got for Christmas. Instead, ask a friend or trusted neighbor to REFRIGERATOR/FREEZER: Set to the warmest possible tem- put out your bins on trash day, and if that’s not possible, just perature without spoiling food items, and make sure both are skip the trash pickup altogether. fully packed with space between items. This will help the cold DON’T LEAVE A NOTE. Putting a hold on your mail and news- air circulate easily, and fridges and freezers won’t have to work paper deliveries is a good idea, but leaving a note for a delivery as hard. person that you’re gone is the same as leaving a note for anyone Besides making your home safer from electrical dangers at your door. Instead, let a trusted neighbor know when you are and helping keep your electric bill smaller, make sure your expecting packages and have them pick them up for you.

20 Texas Co-op Power December 2013 TexasCoopPower.com Bundle Up Your Home with Insulation

One of simplest ways to reduce your home’s heating costs—and improve comfort—involves installing proper insulation. Doing so provides resistance to heat flow. The more heat-flow resistance your insulation provides, the Install carbon monoxide detectors away lower your heating and cooling costs. from fans and other air sources to prevent Heat flows naturally from a warmer to a cooler space. In winter, heat moves a misleadingly low CO reading. directly from heated living spaces to adjacent unheated attics, garages, basements and even outdoors. It can also travel indirectly through interior ceilings, walls and floors—wherever there is a temperature difference. To maintain comfort, heat lost in the winter must be replaced by your heating sys- Carbon tem. The longer your heater has to run to maintain a comfortable temperature, the higher your electric bill will be. Proper insulation, though, decreases heat flow. Heat-flow resistance is measured or rated in terms of its R-value. The higher the Monoxide R-value, the greater the insulation’s effectiveness. When calculating the R-value of multilayered installation, add R-values of indi- Dangers vidual layers. Installing more insulation in your home increases the R-value. Insulation effectiveness also depends on how and where it’s installed. For example, insulation that gets compressed will not provide its full rated R-value. The overall R- When it’s cold outside, keeping your value of a wall or ceiling will be somewhat different from the R-value of the insulation home closed up is the natural thing to because some heat flows around the insulation through studs and joists. Therefore, it’s do. That can make wintertime a prime important to properly install your insulation to achieve the maximum R-value. time for carbon monoxide danger. If you have a fireplace, wood stove, attached garage, gas appliances or an electrical generator, you should have a carbon monoxide detector. Carbon monoxide, or CO, is an odor- less, colorless gas that is emitted through combustion, especially if an indoor appli- ance is not vented properly or is poorly maintained. It inhibits oxygen intake in the bloodstream and can cause injury or even death in high concentrations. At low exposure, CO can cause fatigue in healthy people or chest pain in those with heart conditions, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. At higher concentrations, it can cause impaired vision, headaches, confu- sion and nausea. It may also cause flu- ISTOCK | THINKSTOCK ISTOCK like symptoms that fade when a person is Here are some tips on insulating your home from the U.S. Department of Energy: no longer exposed to CO. a Consider factors such as your climate, home design and budget when selecting To reduce dangers from CO, make sure insulation for your home. fireplaces and gas appliances are in good a Use higher R-value insulation, such as spray foam, on exterior walls and in repair, never idle a vehicle in an attached cathedral ceilings to get more insulation with less thickness. garage and always operate generators a Install attic air barriers such as wind baffles along the entire attic eave to help outside in a well-ventilated place away ensure proper airflow from the soffit to the attic. Ventilation helps with moisture con- from the home’s windows and doors. trol and reducing summer cooling bills, but don’t ventilate your attic if you have insu- A carbon monoxide detector can lation on the underside of the roof. Ask a qualified contractor for recommendations. alert you and your family when concen- a Be careful how close you place insulation next to a recessed light fixture—unless trations of the gas become too high. it is insulation contact- (IC-) rated—to avoid a fire hazard. But, like smoke detectors, if it has weak a Follow the manufacturer’s installation instructions and wear the proper protec- batteries—or worse, no batteries—it

tive gear when installing insulation. | THINKSTOCK ISTOCK won’t do you much good.

TexasCoopPower.com December 2013 Texas Co-op Power 21 Texas USA Mansion Returned to ‘Original Vision’ H Nearly destroyed by arsonist, state’s most historic home restored with authentic and modern details

The stately home sits in a small, “Holes were punched in walls to run BY JEFF JOINER green oasis in the heart of urban Austin. wiring and install plugins for lights, as an Graced by six 29-foot Ionic columns example,” Koch says. “Over time, archi- across a two-story portico, the Texas tectural details were hidden or structural Governor’s Mansion gleams a brilliant changes made to introduce modern con- white a few years after an arsonist nearly veniences like air conditioning and destroyed the state’s most historic home. plumbing.” From its completion in 1856, the Gov- In 2007, a major renovation that was ernor’s Mansion has endured the comings to include the installation of the struc- and goings of 40 governors. Numerous ture’s first fire-suppression system was changes and renovations were made to begun. That work was never completed. the Greek Revival structure over its 157- In June 2008, someone threw a Molotov year history, most ordered by governors cocktail onto the front porch, igniting a trying to make the mansion more com- fire. Photos of the aftermath show the fortable to live in. mansion still standing, but charred The more the structure was trans- columns barely hold up the blackened formed over time, the less it resembled second-floor balcony. Fire and water the classic antebellum mansion designed damage collapsed the roof and destroyed and built by Abner Cook to serve as a the second floor with most of the debris “suitable residence” for the state’s chief falling into the home’s central hallway. executive. It took a tragic fire to return it Because of the renovation, Gov. Rick to its former glory. Perry and his family already had been liv- “One thing that history tells us is that ing elsewhere in Austin, and the home’s every governor changed the mansion in historic furnishings and art were in stor- some way to make it their own,” says age. Despite that silver lining, some Dealy Herndon, the State Preservation believed the mansion was beyond saving, Board project manager who came out of Herndon says. retirement to oversee the home’s restora- “There was not a single inch of that tion after the still-unsolved 2008 arson. building that wasn’t affected,” she says, “Imagine moving into a three bedroom, recalling the six weeks she spent devising 19th-century mansion with eight children a plan for restoring the structure. and there are no closets to hang clothes Herndon, who knew the mansion inti- in. That’s what Sam Houston found.” mately and who had worked on historic New governors often found the man- restoration projects for 30 years, said she sion needing serious repair, says State immediately understood the challenges Preservation Board Architect Kevin the state faced. How do you rebuild a treas- Koch. Often updates were done on shoe- ured historic landmark but make it state- string budgets with little regard to his- of-the-art, accessible to the public and toric preservation. comfortable for a modern family to live in?

22 Texas Co-op Power December 2013 TexasCoopPower.com Herndon’s plan involved preserving the historic integrity of the mansion, including recovering original architec- tural details lost to time and the fire, while introducing contemporary technol- ogy where appropriate and required. The home, including public areas and private quarters, was for the first time made compliant with the Americans with Disabil- ities Act. Kitchens were modernized and living quarters upstairs expanded with office space added for the governor. Until the restoration, there was no place for a governor to work in the private quarters. Some of the most dramatic changes have been made in how the mansion is heated and cooled. Designed as a 19th- century home that relied on large floor- to-ceiling windows for light that were opened for summer cooling, the mansion was modernized in the restoration with a ground-source heat pump system that made it energy efficient while preserving required historic details such as the origi- nal single-pane windows. Koch says the mansion, even with added living space, is 50 percent more energy efficient with electric bills consis- tently 30 percent less than before the fire. “We’ve been able to show that you can integrate new technology with old con- struction techniques to maintain sustain- ability and energy efficiency in a 150-year-old building,” Koch says. He is submitting an application for LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Envi- ronmental Design, certification for the restoration. LEED certification rates building projects for using environmen- tally sustainable design and construction methods. Koch says earning LEED certi- fication would demonstrate the value of saving historic landmarks while working architectural work. STATELY AGAIN: The Governor’s Mansion in in a sustainable way. “This is the closest the mansion has Austin, completed in 1856, now stands in The project required a $21.5 million come to look like his original vision for dignity after a four-year restoration proj- ect that cost $25 million and included a appropriation from the Legislature and more than 150 years,” says Herndon who 1,700-square-foot addition to the back of an additional $3.5 million in private retired again this summer. “It’s so beauti- the house for more upstairs living space, donations. fully simple in its design. It’s so pure now.” an elevator, a larger kitchen and increased In July 2012, four years after the fire, Jeff Joiner is Texas Co-op Power editor. security. Security became a central issue the restoration was completed, and the after an arsonist nearly destroyed the building in June 2008. ‘There was not a Perrys moved back into the mansion. Information about mansion tours is avail- single inch of that building that wasn’t This spring the mansion, on the corner of able by contacting the Friends of the Gov- affected,’ says Dealy Herndon, the State 11th and Lavaca streets, was reopened for ernor’s Mansion at (512) 305-8524 or by Preservation Board project manager who public tours. visiting txfgm.org. oversaw restoration. Herndon, who was also project man- ager for a 1983 renovation of the Capitol, says the mansion project was the most Web Extra on TexasCoopPower.com challenging she’s undertaken. She says Follow a digital timeline of mansion history she wishes she could talk to Abner Cook including the governors who called it home.

RESTORED MANSION: OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR. MANSION AFTER ARSON: VOLZ & ASSOCIATES MANSION AFTER ARSON: VOLZ MANSION: OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR. RESTORED about what he thinks of his most famous

TexasCoopPower.com December 2013 Texas Co-op Power 23 Observations Turning a Page in the Book of Books

University of Texas’ centuries- old Gutenberg Bible showcases pivotal chapter for mankind’s faith and knowledge

Olivia Primanis lifts the open Guten- printed texts of all sorts has been incom- BY SUZANNE HABERMAN berg Bible from its cradle with her bare parably the most significant factor in hands. The senior book conservator at human intellectual progress over the the Harry Ransom Center removes the past five centuries,” writes Martin more than 550-year-old text from the Davies, a curator of the British Library, in display case at the University of Texas at “The Gutenberg Bible” (British Library Austin and closes the polished calfskin Board, 1996). binding, handling the rare book with as Only about 48 Gutenberg Bibles sur- much ease as an everyday Merriam-Web- vive today. The book Primanis holds in ster dictionary. her arms during the Ransom Center’s “It doesn’t help if you get nervous,” quarterly page-turning is one of only five Primanis says, explaining her respect for complete Gutenberg Bibles in the United historic manuscripts. “So many of the States. things we have here have been touched by The Gutenberg Bible is also “the cen- the creator … and so we’ve always realized tral text of the religion of the West, the the importance of the artifact.” book of books, the source of faith and its In late summer, she and a team are palpable expression,” writes Davies. “In updating the Bible exhibit in the humani- its earliest printing it is also, in the opin- ties and research library and museum by ion of many critics, one of the most beau- changing the displayed page of the uni- tiful books ever produced.” versity’s copy of this epic tome. Produced That beauty is subtly on display at the in about 1455, the Gutenberg Bible was Ransom Center. Two volumes make up the first surviving book printed on a the complete text of UT’s copy, with each printing press with moveable type. book measuring about 16 inches tall, 11 ½ Johann Gutenberg invented the print- inches wide and 4 inches thick, and weigh- ing press and process in Germany, and the ing more than 14 pounds. Most days, they first book he printed commercially was rest—one open, one closed—in a secure the Bible. The approximately 180 books and climate-controlled case in the lobby printed in his print shop are now called where the “display is all about control of Gutenberg Bibles. light,” explains Ken Grant, exhibition con- The printing press revolutionized the servator and head of exhibition services. reproduction of the printed word. Books Even under subdued lanterns, the pol- that once had to be hand copied could now ished calfskin cover of the closed book be produced with speed and accuracy gleams, and the open book reveals two of through a mechanical process. The subse- the complete work’s more than 1,277 quent availability of printed texts, starting printed pages of still-supple paper, hand- with the Gutenberg Bible, put knowledge made with organic fibers in northern Italy at mankind’s fingertips. by craftsmen who “knew intuitively what “And ownership of and access to made a good piece of paper,” Grant says,

24 Texas Co-op Power December 2013 TexasCoopPower.com rubbing his thumb and fingers together. well Library in a description and analysis of the Pforzheimer collection at UT, for “They knew how to make things last.” of UT’s Gutenberg Bible. Four scribes confirmation of the page number he says Each leaf of the hardy paper stock had wrote in the texts, but only one person, in he chose based on personal interest and to withstand about four passes through about 1600, wrote in both, meaning the physical features of the book. “And it’s Gutenberg’s invention. The mechanism, two volumes are not an original pair. 121?” Primanis asks. perhaps modeled after a winepress, Clues from the bindings suggest the “One twenty-eight,” Hildebrand imprinted rows of rich black Gothic let- Texas texts might have served German instructs, bending to see the penciled-in ters that spell out the Vulgate, or St. Jesuits and remote Carthusian monks, page numbers, added to the upper cor- Jerome Latin translation of the Bible, White reports, but little is known of this ners as a modern study aid, as Primanis common in Gutenberg’s time. copy’s early history. In the early 1800s, thumbs through the book. They’re look- Hundreds of characters—cast in metal the copy moved to the first-recorded indi- ing for the end of Ruth and the beginning in reverse so they could be aligned back- vidual owners, traveling from a European of I Samuel, where in this copy the num- ward in a frame, dabbed with ink and then book collector to a prince, two earls, a ber of lines per column changes from 42 pressed on paper—appear woven into two library and, finally, to the private collec- to 40 as Gutenberg adjusted the printing columns of 40, 41 or 42 lines in the Texas tion of the Pforzheimer family in New process to conserve paper. copy. The old-fashioned lettering and lack York City in the 1920s. Finding Page 128, Primanis supports of most punctuation makes the text nearly The University of Texas purchased the the open book on her forearms and places unreadable to a modern observer even if Gutenberg Bible from the Carl and Lily it on the display next to Volume II, which one did know archaic Latin. Yet the text Pforzheimer Foundation for $2.4 million she had closed and replaced earlier. She was by medieval standards “very neat and in 1978. For more than 35 years, the pliés to get eye level with the book and legible … not at all difficult to follow … incunabulum—a book printed before slides two supports below the pages to without glasses,” according to a letter 1501—has been on nearly constant display prevent drooping. Then she, Grant and written in 1455. at the Ransom Center. Hildebrand step back in admiration of the Hand-drawn embellishments grace Primanis has been involved with turn- artifact that she—and the creator—has the lettering. They include “illumina- ing the page for the Gutenberg Bible dis- touched. tions” painted in gold leaf and bold, old- play for 23 of those years. Before UT’s fall Suzanne Haberman is a staff writer. world colors on select initial letters; 2013 semester, she places Volume II that rubrication, or red detailing at the begin- had been open to Lamentations on a util- ning of sentences; and liturgical direc- ity cart near the display with an ease that Web Extras on TexasCoopPower.com tions and corrections in the margins. comes from experience. She takes Vol- • Check out the Bible by the numbers. Handwriting studies hint at the two ume I from the display case and rests it on • Learn about the mark of a papermaker. volumes’ ownership over the past five its spine beside the second. • Turn the pages of a UT digital Bible. centuries, wrote Eric Marshall White of She turns to Ryan Hildebrand, book Southern Methodist University’s Brid- cataloging department head and curator

Harry Ransom Center employees Olivia Primanis and Ken Grant put the finishingfinishing touchestouches onon thethe GutenbergGutenberg Bible exhibit after changingchanging thethe displayeddisplayed page. Hand-drawn embellishments, inset, adorn the first-surviving book printed using movable type. JEFF JOINER

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26 Texas Co-op Power December 2013 TexasCoopPower.com Meet the Beauty in the Beast Discover this spectacular 6½-carat green treasure from Mount St. Helens!

or almost a hundred years it lay dormant. Silently building strength. At F 10,000 feet high, it was truly a sleeping giant. Until May 18, 1980, when the beast awoke with violent force and revealed its greatest secret. Mount St. Helens erupted, sending up a 80,000-foot column of ash and smoke. From that chaos, something beautiful emerged… our spectacular Helenite Necklace.

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LIMIT 8 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount LIMIT 7 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount LIMIT 3 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 4/1/14. Limit one coupon per customer per day. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 4/1/14. Limit one coupon per customer per day. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 4/1/14. Limit one coupon per customer per day. 1500 WATT DUAL SUPER SUPER 1 0" SLIDING SUPER TEMPERATURE COUPON! COUPON! COUPON! LOT NO. 68146/ LOT NO. 98199 COMPOUND HEAT GUN 2000 LB. 61258 /61297 MITER SAW (572°/1112°) ELECTRIC WINCH SAVE WITH REMOTE CONTROL FREE LOT NO. 96289 $120 60 Tooth Carbide Blade AND AUTOMATIC BRAKE SAVE A $19.99 Value Included SAVE $ 99 REG. $70 $ 99 7 PRICE $4999 79 69% $25 .99 REG. PRICE $119 .99 REG. PRICE $199 .99 LIMIT 5 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount LIMIT 4 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount LIMIT 7 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 4/1/14. Limit one coupon per customer per day. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 4/1/14. Limit one coupon per customer per day. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 4/1/14. Limit one coupon per customer per day. 18 VOLT CORDLESS 10 FT. x 20 FT. SUPER 3/8" DRILL/DRIVER SUPER PORTABLE SUPER MIG-FLUX COUPON! WITH KEYLESS CHUCK COUPON! CAR CANOPY COUPON! WELDING CART LOT NO. 69034/ LOT NO. 69340/ SAVE 60790 /90305/61316 Includes one SAVE LOT NO. 68218/ SAVE 18V NiCd 68239 /69651 $100 60728 battery and 54% 50% $ 99 charger. $ 99 REG. $ 99 REG. 29 15 PRICE 99 PRICE Welder and accessories $34 .99 $199 .99 sold separately. REG. PRICE $59 .99

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TexasCoopPower.com December 2013 Texas Co-op Power 31 TEXAS MEDICAL PLANS FLOATING FISHING PIER On your pond or lake, with or without roof. All sizes—installation available. GET RESULTS! 45 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE ADVERTISE IN THE Call for Free Information 1-800-310-1425 1-888-888-6698 • www.ellisonmarine.com • Ellison Marine, Franklin, TX. MARKETPLACE

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32 Texas Co-op Power December 2013 TexasCoopPower.com Texas History

Jane Long’s Christmas The woman who is called the ‘Mother of Texas’ faced unthinkable challenges, including a brutal winter, nearly alone on Bolivar Point. BY MARTHA DEERINGER

Christmas of 1821 tested the mettle of Texas pioneer Jane Wilkinson Long. Jane’s husband, James Long, bade her to wait at a small stone fort on Bolivar Point at the entrance to Galveston Bay while he and 52 soldiers set out to help free Texas from Spanish rule. Winter was coming; the nearest neighbors were a hostile Karankawa tribe living across the bay; and Jane was expecting a baby. Long, the fort’s commanding general, promised to return in three weeks. He left Jane, their 6-year-old daughter, Ann, and Kian, a 12-year-old servant girl, in the care of some 50 soldiers on October 19, 1821. Three weeks came and went; supplies began to run low; and winter arrived with a vengeance. A few at a time, the remaining soldiers abandoned the fort. To their credit, the soldiers pointed out the perils. Jane, 23, was unmoved, and the last soldiers reluctantly left her behind with a few surplus rifles, some ammunition, an old cannon, a few fishhooks, a single fishing line and a dog. Jane provided for her family by fishing and shooting birds. Born in Maryland in 1798, Jane Wilkinson lost her father before her first birthday and her mother in 1812. Gen. James from Monterrey brought a message from Long. His letter Wilkinson, the controversial veteran of the American Revolu- explained that he was imprisoned in Mexico City but was well. tion, was a distant relative, and he adopted Jane. On his planta- Across the bay from Bolivar Point, fires gleamed at night on tion in Mississippi, she grew into a remarkable beauty, Galveston Island, where the Karankawa had set up camp since independent and adventurous. the departure of the pirate Jean Lafitte. One morning, Kian When she met James Long, a handsome surgeon who fought ventured outside the fort and began to scream. Approaching the in the Battle of New Orleans, Jane abandoned her studies and mainland were canoes loaded with painted warriors. With married him. Long practiced medicine, bought and operated a adrenaline-fueled strength, Jane and Kian turned the aged can- plantation where daughter Ann was born, and then went into the non toward the flotilla. Then she and Kian applied tinder to the mercantile business. Yet when he was offered the rank of general cannon and fired. She missed the boats, but the tremendous to head an expedition to Texas, he donned a uniform again. boom had the desired effect. The Karankawa paddled away. Jane followed her husband to Bolivar Point after the birth of In March 1822, Jane finally agreed to leave Bolivar Point and her second child, Rebecca, traveling by boat and later by mule. accepted passage to San Jacinto with James Smith. She would She stayed for a month with her sister in Louisiana, and the not receive the letter telling of her husband’s death until July, baby died there of unknown causes. Heartbroken, she joined although he had been shot months earlier in Mexico City. His Long at the battered stone fort, where they lived without furni- death was an accident, the Mexican government claimed. ture or amenities for nearly a year until duty called him away. In time, Jane opened a boarding house in Brazoria, and leg- Winter blew in on bitter winds after Long’s departure, and end says she turned down marriage proposals from Sam Hous- Galveston Bay froze over. Jane moved her family into a ton, Ben Milam and Mirabeau B. Lamar. makeshift tent inside the walls, but snow collapsed the tent’s Jane is often called the “Mother of Texas” because it was roof and dusted the beds with white. thought that her third daughter was the first Anglo-American On December 21, 1821, as young Kian lay delirious with fever, child born in Texas. Although researchers have since found ear- Jane delivered her own baby, a third girl she named Mary lier births, most feel she earned the title during the lonely vigil James. The next day, she went out to collect fish, frozen in the of Christmas 1821.

GIL ADAMS ice, for Christmas dinner. The day after Christmas, seven men Martha Deeringer is a frequent contributor who lives in McGregor.

TexasCoopPower.com December 2013 Texas Co-op Power 33 Recipes

2013 Holiday Recipe Contest SPONSORED BY THE TEXAS PECAN BOARD We Texans love our pecans, especially when they’re native. Again this year, the Texas Pecan Board sponsored the annual Texas Co-op Power Holiday Recipe Contest, and the 2013 grand prizewinner has done our state’s favorite nut proud. Peggy Dickerson, a member of Farmers Electric Cooperative from Rockwall, created a delicious recipe featuring Texas pecans, shrimp and a tangy Thai dipping sauce. Dickerson says she was encouraged by her grandmother to cook and began experimenting in the kitchen as an 8-year-old. “I like to create new dishes, and I’m really interested in how food looks on the plate,” she says, adding that her husband, Gary, teases her about the effort she puts into the presentation of meals. Her eye for delicious taste and presentation earned her the 2013 Holiday Recipe Contest $3,000 grand prize.

$3,000 GRAND PRIZEWINNER ¾ cup Panko breadcrumbs PEGGY DICKERSON, FARMERS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE 4 teaspoons plus 1 cup sugar, divided Pecan-Studded Crowns of Shrimp atop 4 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds Royal Spring Greens ½ to 1 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper ¼ teaspoon black pepper 1 pound large shrimp 2 teaspoons medium-grind sea salt, divided 1 ¾ cups Texas pecans, divided 1 egg

¾ cup cornflakes ¼ cup whipping cream LES TIRMENSTEIN

34 Texas Co-op Power December 2013 TexasCoopPower.com Dash red pepper sauce Carefully place 3 pecan-studded shrimp atop the pears ¾ cup all-purpose flour and greens to form a “crown.” Oil for frying › Garnish with additional pecans and serve extra sauce on 2 tablespoons honey the side for dipping shrimp. Store any remaining can- 2 tablespoons Thai sweet red chili sauce died pecans in an airtight container. 2 tablespoons rice vinegar Servings: 6. Serving size: ⅙ of dish. Per serving: 668 calories, 24.2 g pro- 2 teaspoons soy sauce tein, 25.2 g fat, 86.1 g carbohydrates, 5.8 g dietary fiber, 1,664 mg sodium, 54.8 g sugars, 145 mg cholesterol 1 teaspoon sesame oil 1 tablespoon grated onion Pinch ground pepper $500 RUNNER-UP—BEST APPETIZER 2 tablespoons vegetable oil DEBRA GIFFORD, PEDERNALES ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar Gifford says her daughter inspired her pecan crab dip recipe. ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper “My daughter loves crab, and I thought I would try a recipe 8 cups fresh spring mixed greens with crab and pecans. She loved it. She had friends over, and 6 dates, pitted and sliced they demolished it.” 6 ounces goat cheese, crumbled 1 beet, roasted and cut into half-inch cubes (optional) 1 pear, peeled and thinly sliced

Shrimp › Peel and devein shrimp, leaving the tails attached. Finely chop ¾ cup pecans. Crush cornflakes to ¼-inch pieces. Mix pecans and cornflakes together in a medium bowl with breadcrumbs, 4 teaspoons sugar, sesame seeds, red and black peppers and 1 teaspoon sea salt. › In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, cream and pepper sauce. Place flour in a separate bowl. › Holding a shrimp by the tail, dip in flour, covering all but the tail. Next, dip in egg mixture. Finally, dredge in pecan mixture, patting gently to cover the shrimp well. Set aside and repeat process until all shrimp are breaded. › Heat 1 ½ inches of frying oil to 350 degrees in a Dutch oven or electric skillet. Watching carefully, fry shrimp for 3 minutes or until golden brown. Remove with a slot- ted spoon and drain well on a rack or paper towels. Set aside. Sauce › In a small bowl, whisk together honey, Thai chili sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, onion, ½ teaspoon sea salt, pinch of ground pepper and 2 tablespoons veg- etable oil. Set aside. Glazed Pecans › Boil 1 cup water, remaining 1 cup sugar and cayenne pepper 5 to 7 minutes or until just slightly thickened. Stir in remaining 1 cup pecans and boil for another 5 minutes. While pecan mixture is boiling, mix brown sugar and remaining ½ teaspoon sea salt. Drain pecans and place on waxed paper. While still warm, sprinkle pecans with the brown sugar mixture and toss. Cool completely. Hot Pecan Crab Dip Assembly › Gently toss greens with approximately half of the sauce, dates, goat cheese and beet cubes, if desired. Pile the Hot Pecan Crab Dip greens mixture in the center of a plate. › On the greens, arrange 3 pear slices in the shape of a 8 ounces crab, fully cooked and flaked

RICK PATRICK PHOTOGRAPHY RICK PATRICK pyramid. Sprinkle with desired amount of glazed pecans. 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

TexasCoopPower.com December 2013 Texas Co-op Power 35 Recipes

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened $500 RUNNER-UP—BEST MAIN DISH ¾ cup grated Parmesan, divided KATHRYN WARD, MEDINA ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE ½ cup cheddar, shredded This recipe could have been a failure, Ward says: “This is one of ½ cup mozzarella, shredded my first ‘kitchen sink’ meals where I just take a little bit of a lot ½ cup mayonnaise of things I have in my kitchen and create a masterpiece or a 6 to 8 jalapeños, chopped and deseeded disaster. This happens to be one of my masterpieces.” ¼ cup green onion, chopped ½ teaspoon crushed garlic or ¼ teaspoon garlic powder Honey Dijon Pecan-Crusted Pork Loin Salt and pepper to taste ½ cup chopped Texas pecans 2 cloves garlic, minced ½ cup crackers ¾ cup Dijon mustard ½ cup melted butter ¼ cup honey ¼ cup dry white wine › Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine crab, bacon, Salt and pepper to taste cream cheese, ¼ cup Parmesan, cheddar, mozzarella, 4 cups crushed Texas pecans mayonnaise, jalapeños, onion and garlic in a bowl then 6 to 8 pounds pork loin transfer to a 9-by-9-inch baking dish. › In a separate bowl, combine pecans, remaining Parme- › Mix garlic, mustard, honey and wine with a wire whisk until san, crackers and butter. well combined. Lightly salt and pepper the pork loin. Roll › Sprinkle pecan mixture over top of crab mixture and the pork loin in the mustard mixture then roll in pecans bake until bubbly, about 20 to 30 minutes. until coated well, pressing pecans firmly into the meat. Servings: 24. Serving size: ¼ cup. Per serving: 205 calories, 6.5 g protein, › Place loin in a shallow 10-by-8-inch glass baking dish, 17 g fat, 3.6 g carbohydrates, 0.4 g dietary fiber, 248 mg sodium, 0.9 g cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour (or sugars, 48 mg cholesterol overnight). › Bake at 375 degrees for 1 to 1 ½ hours or until internal temperature reaches 170 degrees. Let rest 15 minutes Honey Dijon Pecan- before slicing. Crusted Pork Loin Servings: 24 (with 8-pound loin). Serving size: About ¼ pound. Per serv- ing: 405 calories, 28.2 g protein, 27.7 g fat, 6 g carbohydrates, 2 g dietary fiber, 154 mg sodium, 3.7 g sugars, 83 mg cholesterol

$500 RUNNER-UP—BEST SIDE DISH KATHERINE GOODNIGHT-CLICK, FARMERS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE The East Tawakoni resident says she fondly remembers a squash recipe her grandmother often made. “I wanted to try making a similar squash dish, but I wanted to add my own twist by trying it with pecans.”

Squash Bake

2 ½ cups cooked, mashed butternut or acorn squash ¼ cup plus ⅓ cup butter, softened and divided 2 beaten eggs ½ cup milk ¼ teaspoon nutmeg ¼ teaspoon cinnamon 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup chopped Texas pecans ⅓ cup flour

› Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix squash, ¼ cup butter, eggs, milk and spices and spread into a casserole dish. Mix remaining butter, brown sugar, pecans and flour together and sprinkle over squash mixture. › Bake 40 minutes or until lightly browned and hot. Servings: 6. Serving size: ½ cup. Per serving: 471 calories, 6 g protein, 31.3 g fat, 41.7 g carbohydrates, 4.7 g dietary fiber, 44 mg sodium, 25.3 g

sugars, 111 mg cholesterol PHOTOGRAPHY RICK PATRICK

36 Texas Co-op Power December 2013 TexasCoopPower.com Bacon Pecan Pie Bars

Squash Bake

$500 RUNNER-UP—BEST DESSERT sugar and remaining ¼ cup butter. Cook, stirring con- COURTNEY BAUERLEIN, GUADALUPE VALLEY ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE stantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove mixture Bauerlein’s family comes from Texas pecan country. “My dad is from heat and allow it to cool for a few minutes. from Seguin, and they love pecans over there, so I grew up eat- › Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs. Gradually add the ing pecans. I really like sweet and salty flavors, so I added syrup mixture. Stir in vanilla and salt. Fold in the bacon to this recipe to add that saltiness I like.” remaining pecans and bacon. › Pour filling over the crust and bake for 30 minutes or Bacon Pecan Pie Bars until the center is set. Let the bars cool for at least an hour before cutting. 1 ½ cups flour Servings: 20. Serving size: 1 bar. Per serving: 429 calories, 5.2 g protein, 1 ½ cups powdered sugar 25.2 g fat, 46 g carbohydrates, 2 g dietary fiber, 225 mg sodium, 26 g sugars, 71 mg cholesterol 1 cup softened butter, divided 3 ½ cups chopped Texas pecans, divided, or 1 ½ cups chopped pecans and 2 cups pecan halves Web Extras at TexasCoopPower.com 1 ¼ cups light corn syrup Watch a video of the winning recipe being prepared and photographed 1 cup light brown sugar for the cover. 4 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon coarse salt $100 Recipe Contest ½ cup cooked bacon, chopped April’s recipe contest topic is Strawberries. Whether it’s a wonderful › Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together flour and family take on shortcake, a tangy strawberry sherbet or a delicious powdered sugar. Cut in ¾ cup butter and mix until it and healthy drink, strawberries are a great way to usher in spring. The forms a dough. Mix in 1 ½ cups chopped pecans. Press deadline is December 10. the dough into a greased 13-by-9-inch baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. There are three ways to enter: ONLINE at TexasCoopPower.com/contests; MAIL to 1122 Colorado St., 24th › After crust is done and removed from oven, raise oven Floor, Austin, TX 78701; FAX to (512) 763-3401. Include your name, address and phone number, plus your temperature to 350 degrees. co-op and the name of the contest you are entering. › RICK PATRICK PHOTOGRAPHY RICK PATRICK Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine corn syrup, brown

TexasCoopPower.com December 2013 Texas Co-op Power 37 SIGN UP FOR OUR Monthly E-Newsletter at TexasCoopPower.com

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38 Texas Co-op Power December 2013 TexasCoopPower.com Focus on Texas

Homemade There are some things you just can’t find in a store. Their value is beyond a price tag. They are homemade treasures that come from the heart, with stories that do likewise. We hope you appreciate as we did these fine displays of craftsmanship, passion and good taste. ASHLEY CLARY-CARPENTER

Web Extra on TexasCoopPower.com Look what we made: a slideshow of other things you made.

g Jennifer Connor, Pedernales EC, wanted to make daughter Maya something special for her first day of kindergarten, so she fashioned this backpack out of fabric Maya picked. Connor says Maya, shown here with little sister Maizy leading the way, couldn’t be happier with her one-of-a-kind bag.

Paul Garcia, a Medina EC member who has participated in Alamo battle re-enactments, honored ancestors who fought for Texas independence by carving his 1836 replica flintlock musket with their names. a

g Mmm, tasty! Or should we say prickly? This prickly pear syrup was made by Pamela Trede, Pedernales EC.

Pretty in pink: Fannin County EC’s Ksenia Hudgins’ girl Mila shows off her mommy-made jacket. a

The West fertilizer plant explosion hit close to home for HILCO EC’s Donna Pustejovsky, whose family lost a home and farm. Daughter Kaylee created this piece with West as the heart of Texas using a small door from a barn on that farm. a

Upcoming Contests

February Issue: Looking Down Deadline: December 10 March: Stairways April: Slow Shutter

All entries must include name, address, daytime phone and co-op affiliation, plus the contest topic and a brief description of your photo. ONLINE: Submit highest-resolution digital images at TexasCoopPower.com/contests. MAIL: Focus on Texas, 1122 Colorado St., 24th Floor, Austin, TX 78701. A stamped, self-addressed envelope must be included if you want your entry returned (approximately six weeks). Please do not submit irreplaceable photo- graphs—send a copy or duplicate. We do not accept entries via email. We regret that Texas Co-op Power cannot be responsible for photos that are lost in the mail or not received by the deadline.

TexasCoopPower.com December 2013 Texas Co-op Power 39 Around Texas Get Going > This is just a sampling of the events

December 5-27 Pick of the Month December Abilene Cocoa Sip-N-Stroll 05 Christmas Lane Seguin [December 6–7] Jacksonville Christmas Parade, (830) 401-0810, visitseguin.com (903) 586-2217 Participating downtown stores sell special Nacogdoches A Down Home Christmas mugs for sampling homemade cocoa. The Cooking Show, 1-888-653-3788, evening event also features Christmas music, nineflagsfestival.com horse-drawn carriage rides and ornament- Abilene [5–27] Christmas Lane, (325) 795- making stations. Oh, and a very special guest 3547, abilenevolunteerservicescouncil.org will be in attendance. 06 Lockhart [6–7] Dickens Christmas, (512) 398-3223, lockhartchamber.com Newton [6–7, 13–14, 20–21, 23–24] Festival of Lights, (409) 489-3066 Denton Reindeer Romp, (940) 349-7275, dentonparks.com Gonzales [6–7] Santa’s Market Winterfest, (830) 672-2815, cityofgonzales.org Palestine [6–8] Frost Fest: A Vintage 07 Holiday in the Piney Woods, (903) 729-6066, Buna Christmas in Buna, (409) 994-5586 palestinefrostfest.com Cranfills Gap Lutefisk Dinner, (254) 597-2505, cranfillsgapisd.net

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GAS UP AND GO! Surprisingly affordable. Browse hundreds of events from around the state at TexasCoopPower.com/events

THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT IS HERE Dec 5 - 6:30pm Lighted Christmas PPaarade Dec 6 - 6:30-8:30pm Cocoa Sip ‘n Stroll Buy an artsy mug and taste homemade cocoa This is a great time to build your new home! and mortgage rates are at an all-time low. at the shops on the square. Horse & buggy Building materials are affordably priced Get started today with United-Bilt Homes. rides, Santa, Christmas music and more! Dec 7 - All Daayy In-house financing with ZERO down & no payments for 6 mos! Santa, SNOWW,, Christmas music, family fun.

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40 Texas Co-op Power December 2013 TexasCoopPower.com and festivals around Texas. For a complete listing, please visit TexasCoopPowe r.com/eve nts.

07 14 Fredericksburg Pearl Harbor Observance, Bulverde Living Christmas Drive-Thru (830) 997-8600, pacificwarmuseum.org Presentation, (830) 980-2813, December 31 Luckenbach Henrietta Clay County Christmas, redroofchurch.org New Year’s Eve (940) 538-5261, hccchamber.org Sattler Christmas Parade, (830) 964-2461, Port Aransas Carolers Afloat & Boat Light- clnoonlions.com ing Parade, (361) 749-5919, portaransas.org Snyder Big Country Christmas Ball, 31 (325) 660-8338, westtexasrehab.org Luckenbach New Year’s Eve, Port O’Connor Lighted Boat Parade, (830) 997-3224, luckenbachtexas.com (361) 983-2898, portoconnorchamber.org Round Top The Nutcracker, (979) 249-3129, Rosenberg Christmas in Rosenberg, festivalhill.org (832) 595-3525, ci.rosenberg.tx.us Vernon Christmas on the Western Trail January Sherman St. Mary’s Run Run Rudolph 5K, Parade, (940) 553-3766 (903) 436-5502, stmarys-sch.org Ingleside [14–15] Renaissance Faire, 01 (361) 776-2906, inglesidetxchamber.org Bandera Cowgirl Roundup & Show-Deo, 13 Stonewall Boxing Day, (830) 644-2681, (830) 796-4413 Lubbock [13–14] Candlelight at the Ranch, ext. 302, beckervineyards.com (806) 742-0498, nrhc.ttu.edu December 13-15 04 Fredericksburg First Friday Art Walk, Comanche [13–15] Cora’s Christmas on the Tomball German (830) 997-6523, artwalkfbg.com Square,(325) 356-3233,comanchechamber.org Christmas Market Liberty [13–15] Christmas Under The Stars, (936) 336-7252 Submit Your Event! Tomball [13–15] German Christmas Market, We pick events for the magazine directly from (281) 379-6844, tomballgermanfest.org TexasCoopPower.com. Submit your event for February by December 10, and it just might be featured in this calendar!

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TexasCoopPower.com December 2013 Texas Co-op Power 41 Hit the Road Steam Train

Texas State Railroad revisits the early days of rail travel and is about to chug into its most popular season—when the Polar Express ventures to the ‘North Pole’ BY KEVIN HARGIS

where I could hear the chugging of the engine and feel the warm wind carrying the blended scents of pine, creosote and engine smoke. The full-length East Texas Steam Train Excursion takes about 4 ½ hours, including the layover, and departs every weekend through early November. Special trips include dinner train rides, one catering to photographers, and, in October, the Pump- kin Patch Express, which makes a stop for seasonal fun near Maydelle. But the most popular time to travel the line is now, in December, on the Polar Express Train Ride. Running through December 29 this year, the Polar Express attracted more than 43,000 of the railroad’s 56,000-plus passengers in 2012, said Janet Gregg, marketing and communications man- ager for the Texas State Railroad. H During the trip, which covers the 8 miles or so between Palestine and the ALL ABOARD: Engine No. 316, built in 1901 and weighing 79 tons, churns over a bridge as it leads passengers down the historic rail line between Palestine and Rusk. “North Pole” set up at the Jarvis Wye, fam- ilies listen to a recording of actor Liam One hundred years ago, there were backed the 79-ton locomotive built in Neeson reading the book about a child’s no commercial airlines and the automo- 1901 smoothly into place. steam train journey to meet Santa Claus. bile was in its infancy. The state of the art Then, the nostalgic call went out: “All Many passengers wear pajamas, just like in long-distance travel was the steam- aboard!” I settled into my seat in the Lone the children do in the story, Gregg said, powered locomotive. The iron horses no Star Class car, which features table service and cookies and cocoa are served. longer roam freely across the country, and air conditioning, and soon we were The narration is timed so that it ends but in a few select places, they still ply underway. just before the train, decked out in holi- their trade. Picking up speed, cars gently swaying, day finery, emerges from the dark woods One of those is in East Texas’ Piney the train moved into the mixed forest of at a lighted village where Santa and his Woods. For 37 years, visitors have gotten a pine and oak. The scenery glided by, pep- elves board, Gregg said. Then, on the trip taste of taking the train at the turn of the pered with sights such as a beaver-cre- back to Palestine, the elves and crew lead 20th century with a jaunt on the Texas ated lake; the Jarvis Wye, a locomotive passengers in singing Christmas carols. State Railroad. turnaround; and a trestle crossing 35 feet At a top speed of about 20 mph, the I arrived at the railroad’s depot out- above the Neches River. train might not fit the modern definition side Palestine one August morning. In the hamlet of Maydelle, which of efficiency. But for the passengers who There, five train cars waited on the tracks houses the railroad’s track maintenance travel on it, it’s a trip in time. for the 50-mile round trip to Rusk, the operations, an 1890s-era turntable still Kevin Hargis is a staff copy editor. home of Cherokee County Electric Coop- rotates locomotives during special events. erative Association, and back. Not much farther, the train pulled For tickets and other information, visit the Historical exhibits at the depot held into the station at Rusk for a 1½-hour railroad’s website, texasstaterr.com, or my interest until Engine No. 316, bell layover, allowing passengers to eat call 1-877-726-7245. clanging, emerged from the nearby stor- lunch—the railroad offers catered salads age and maintenance facility in a cloud of and sandwiches—and explore the depot smoke and steam, chuffing and puffing and surrounding campground. Web Extras at TexasCoopPower.com into position before the cars. With prac- Then, it was “all aboard” again for the Hear the sounds of Engine No. 316 and read ticed precision, the day’s engineer, rail- return trip to Palestine, which I took in a history of the rail line.

road General Manager Earl Knoob, the open-air car at the back of the train, RAILROAD STATE TEXAS

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